This study was performed to investigate the effect of cyclosporine (CsA) on glucose tolerance and peripheral insulin sensitivity in normal Sprague-Dawley rats. After daily treament of CsA (10 mg/kg, i.p.) for two weeks, glucose tolerance tests were carried out by the treatment of glucose (Glu, 2 g/kg, i.p.) alone or in conjunction with exogenous insulin (Ins; human regular insulin, 5 U/kg, s.c.) and measured the decrement of area under the time-plasma glucose concentration curve ($AUC_{olongrightarrow120}$; g.min/ml) by the trapezoidal rule. The rats were divided into three groups (Glu- (Control), Ins+Glu- and CsA+Ins+Glu-, n=7 in each group). The $AUC_{olongrightarrow120}$ of the CsA+Ins+Glu-group was significantly (p<0.01) lower than that of Glu-group (61.0% of control) and significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of Ins+Glu-group (197.4% of Ins+Glu-). The CsA+Ins+Glu- grou showed higher levels of maximal blood glucose concentration and higher $AUC_{olongrightarrow120}$ than those of Ins+Glu-group in normal rats. Besides direct pancreatic toxicity of CsA previously reported (Hahn et al., 1972), these results suggest that CsA also make the possibility to induce peripheral insulin insensitivity and glucose intolerance in normal rats.